


there is no courage in flirting with fear (to prove you're alive)

by daisyjohnsons



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Forehead Kisses, Forehead Touching, Lincoln Campbell Lives, Season 3 AU, Sleepy Cuddles, he deserved to live!!! aos did him dirty!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26352439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyjohnsons/pseuds/daisyjohnsons
Summary: “Close call,” she says, and they both know that although her tone is humorous, she means it. “Flirting with fear now, are you?”“Gotta prove I’m alive somehow.”or, lincoln lives.
Relationships: Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	there is no courage in flirting with fear (to prove you're alive)

**Author's Note:**

> hi this is the first of (probably) many daisy/lincoln fics bc i believe they're the only hets with rights but also they're not het i firmly believe they're both bi and i also think daisy is non-binary because i'm non-binary and i said so but that's a story for another day. anyways! enjoy! title is from eat you alive by the oh hellos!

_“Come to think of it, I just did. I mean, I tried, and we didn’t even realize it.”_

_“Realize what?”_

_“A moment ago. The first time I said I lo—”_

Her heart seizes and her senses freeze and everything is black and she is falling, falling, fading so fast, and then—

_“Daisy!”_

She bolts up and gasps and her breathing is too harsh to be normal and she can’t see, but her skin feels like she just touched a live wire, which means… but it can’t, she just saw—

“Daisy, are you okay?”

Her chest hurts with how hard she sobs and her vision _finally_ starts to clear and she can see him. “Lincoln?”

He smiles that heartbreaker smile, that golden boy smile, and Daisy doesn’t think her chest has ever glowed so brightly or burned so harshly. “Hey, you were out for a while, that’s probably my fault. I had to get you off the Quinjet and I didn’t know if you were going to block it or fight back so I just fired assuming you would and then you didn’t so it’s _definitely_ my fault—”

He stops when Daisy reaches out, still mostly unable to see, but she feels something warm and presses her hand to it. It takes a second to realize she’s cupping Lincoln’s cheek and she almost pulls away, remembering slowly what Lincoln said about them not being an ‘us’, but Lincoln covers her hand with his and turns his nose into her palm. He sighs, his breath is warm on her skin and she can’t help but smile. The relief flooding her body and mind is so overwhelming, she can’t seem to form words, but Lincoln is _here_. He’s alive and he’s alright and whatever it was that she saw, it was a dream. 

“Daisy, I was so scared,” Lincoln says. His lips move against Daisy’s hand and Daisy feels a tear run down her cheek. “I thought I was going to die.”

“What—” her voice is absolutely atrocious, so she clears her throat and starts again. “What happened?”

Lincoln has his eyes closed and his expression is one of something alike to regret. “I shocked you. To get you out of the Quinjet. I took off, fried the manual controls, fried the hell out of Hive, and jumped from the side door.”

Daisy takes in a sharp breath and she knows Lincoln hears it because he flinches. “I know, I know. But I couldn’t just stay there and leave you alone. I just got you back, for fucks sake.”

The curse startles a sudden laugh out of her and it hurts her chest, but she’s laughing with Lincoln in front of her and his hand over her hand on his cheek, and Daisy feels _whole._ “You know how I can transfer electricity on to other things? I’d never done it at a long distance, but I didn’t have time to grab a parachute so I had to try.”

“You’re such an idiot,” Daisy rasps, and now he’s the one laughing. 

“Your idiot,” he says, eyes open and looking at her, and his eyes are full of something, _something_. She nods, throat hurting too much to speak, and she rubs her thumb back and forth across his cheekbone. 

“What else?” She manages, though it takes several attempts and a coughing fit. 

“It worked. I managed to attach myself to the Zephyr. Almost took the thing down, but I reeled myself in and the team let me in through the hatch.”

“Close call,” she says, and they both know that although her tone is humorous, she means it. “Flirting with fear now, are you?”

“Gotta prove I’m alive somehow.” 

Daisy feels herself tear up and she pulls Lincoln closer, resting her forehead on his. “You are,” she whispers, awe plain and clear in her voice. “You’re alive.”

“I am when I’m with you,” he responds, one hand still covering hers, the other brushing gently through her hair. He leans up and kisses her forehead and she feels her tears run down her cheeks as she closes her eyes. “Are you feeling any better?”

She scoffs. “I still feel close to passing out. But I can see better, so there’s that.” Lincoln’s face is clouded with worry when she opens her eyes and it almost makes her smile. “It’s not you. Remember how I almost died from draining my blood for Hive? And then he kicked my ass?”

He cringes and although the worry doesn’t disappear in full, it does fade. “Right. That.”

“Yeah, that.”

They fall into silence for a moment, and for once, Daisy isn’t sure if it’s a comfortable one.

“You meant what you said, right? About us?” 

Lincoln hesitates, but he nods.

“Good. You were right. We do need time. I—” She hesitates, but she remembers a promise she made to him about honesty. “I still feel guilty for what I put you through.” He tries to protest, but when she sets a finger on his lips, he shuts up. “I know it’s not my fault, but I still feel like it is. That’s why you’re right. I can’t do this if I look at you and all I feel is guilt.”

“Is— is that all?” he asks, and when she raises an eyebrow, he rushes to finish, like he’s worried he’s going to run out of the courage he needs to say it. “Is that all you feel?”

Daisy can’t help but smile as she rubs her thumb across his cheek gently and runs her fingers through his hair with her other hand. “Of course not, Lincoln. You know how I feel.”

“I don’t, actually.” They’re both obviously startled by his abruptness, but he doesn’t backtrack. That’s one thing about Lincoln that Daisy has always loved. He never takes back what he says. “I don’t know how you feel about me.”

Daisy hesitates. “Are you sure you want me to say? What with this ‘taking a break’ conversation we’re having.”

“Yes.” No hesitation, no backtracking. Daisy loves him so _fucking_ much.

She takes his hand and holds it to her heart, covering his hand with both of hers. She tries to convey her feelings through gestures because she’s only said these words to so few and she wants Lincoln to know, but what if it’s too much to put on him? What if he leaves? 

“When I was with Hive,” she starts. “I felt whole. I did. Because it was what I was supposed to feel like. Because it was what he wanted me to feel. But I never stopped missing you. I wasn’t supposed to miss _anything,_ and I still missed you so much it hurt to think about you.”

_“Daisy..”_

Lincoln sounds like he’s on the verge of tears, but Daisy is too, so at least they match. She takes his hand from her heart and brings it to her lips, kissing the tip of each finger. When she kisses the last one, he moves forward and brings her into his arms, holding her so tightly it almost hurts, but she welcomes the pain and tries her best to hold him just as tight. 

“I’m sorry I can’t say it,” she murmurs. “I want to. I really want to.”

“I know,” he whispers in return. “It’s okay. We have time.”

 _We have time._ That’s what gets her, the fact that she was so sure one of them was going to die, and they didn’t, and they’re _here_ and they get to _live._ They get to stay. And they have time.

She sobs into his chest and she doesn’t stop for a long time, but he’s crying too, and he cries for even longer than she does, because they’re okay and because they’re _alive,_ and because they have as much time as they want, as much time as they need. 

“I love you,” he whispers into her hair almost two hours later, his voice hoarse from his tears. They’ve laid down and Daisy is using his chest as a pillow. His arms are curled around her waist, one hand drawing circles on her back. Daisy has never felt so content in her life. She knows that they have so much to work through before they can be what they used to be, before they can be what they’re meant to be, but for now, she is at peace. 

Something she’s figured out: Lincoln’s love overflows the way his power does. If he loves someone, he makes sure they know, even if he doesn’t say the words. He’ll die for them, kill for them, he’ll protect them until his last breath. Daisy’s love is similar, but it is quieter. While Lincoln’s is bigger than himself, her’s is bottled in the same place she held his hand to. She keeps her love within her, because she never knows if someone will make her leave for saying it out loud.

Lincoln is here, though. And he wants to stay with her. And he almost died for her, even after everything she did, after all the pain that she caused him.

She thinks she’s safe, here, with him.

“You make me want to stay,” she whispers in response. His arms tighten around her and she nuzzles further into his chest, wiping tears on his shirt, because he knows she said what he did in her own words, that what she said was as important and as powerful as the three words he had said. 

“We’re gonna be okay,” he says, genuine awe in his voice, like he didn’t expect it either. 

Daisy nods. “We are.”

**Author's Note:**

> hi again! come talk to me on twit @ dcisyjohnsons i love talking to people and i want more aos moots :D


End file.
